Ahlva: Unbound

Chapter 1

I screamed in excitement as I bolted off, sprinting and grinning as one of the freshly baked honey rolls grew hot in my hand. I cursed my thick cloak as its weight held me back from running any faster. I could hear the baker's familiar cursing from the other side of the market square before deciding to chase me.

"Get back here!" The old baker stood yelling, his hands on his knees and his lungs wheezing. I laughed and took a bite of the soft warm bread before sprinting even further into an alley and down the cobbled street. My left shoe plunged into a puddle of muddy sewer water as the guards on duty furiously searched the area.

I loved running, it brought the cold morning wind to my face and felt as though I was flying. My hood fell off my head, letting the crisp air run through my hair.

I turned a corner and reached the outer area of the town before slowing to a walking pace, my chest heaving. I cautiously slide down a small slope before gripping the old wood and swinging under a small bridge. I slowed my breathing as my eyes lay upon the bitch and her pups, still as thin as I found her several days ago. I smiled as she noticed me approaching and her frail tail started wagging. 

"Hello again" I greeted her crouched before her and began breaking the bread into pieces to feed to her. "Your little ones are looking bigger today, don't you think?" I handed her a piece and she gently licked it up. She had five pups in total. Three, a grey-black and two, a mix of grey and white. They all lay on a large dress and blanket I brought the day after, I found them. The bitch's leg was broken and she was quite sickly so she couldn't move. I tried my best to wrap a bandage on it. It should be healed in a few weeks. 

I sat on the damp ground while I stroked her old grey fur and hummed forgotten songs. Once the pups awoke and noticed me, they all jumped on my lap and licked and sucked and bit my fingers. I laughed and laughed until I realized how long I'd been here. 

"Shit" I quickly got up, careful not to hurt the pups before a slight rustle in a nearby bush goes off, grabbing my attention. I stare and wait but nothing emerges. "Until next time" I bid the bitch farewell before sprinting like a boar was chasing me to the castle.

                                                                                   -------+-------

I ran to the secret entrance in one of the gardens at the back of the castle. I found it when I was six while playing hide and seek with my mother. 

I moved quietly, trying not to alert any one of the guards that someone was back here as my eyes are kept peeled. If one of them sees me, they'll alert my father and I'll be punished...again. Father only allows me to leave the castle looking as a princess should and with a squadron of guards surrounding me. He usually only lets me go as far as the seamstress whose shop was a 10-minute walk from the castle or the restaurant 5 minutes further from that.

 The gardens are full of large shaped bushes and hedges with all kinds of white and pink flowers. Sparkling water fountains, old statues, and grey pebble-filled pathways decorate the gardens too.

It looks like a beautiful space where faeries and princesses prance about and braid each other's hair. I'd roll my eyes to the back of my head if I could at that thought.

I quickly spot a guard making his rounds and dash to hide behind an oddly shaped hedge, breathing softly I wait as his footsteps become louder and louder.

"You there! I need you" A familiar feminine voice calls, making the guard that was approaching, stop his tracks. "I need you to look for one of the servants, and tell them that I request their service" Her prissy little voice sounds again.

"Of course my lady" A deeper voice sounds before walking off. 

I choose this as my moment to sneak off, and quickly lower my body before slowly moving towards the castle entrance when suddenly a hand lands on my shoulder causing me to jump and turn.